Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Lawyers for Family Say Witness Who Changed Story in Notorious B.I.G. Case Clearly Lied About Pay-Off Offer

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ --

Documents filed in Federal court here today by the estate of murdered rap superstar Christopher Wallace (better known as the Notorious B.I.G.) show that convicted murderer Waymond Anderson was "committing demonstrable perjury" -- that is, clearly lying -- when he accused the Wallace family; its lead attorney, Perry R. Sanders, Jr.; and several other individuals of witness tampering in connection with their wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles.

In a 20-plus-page motion, the Wallace estate asked for access to Anderson's phone and prison-visitation records for the last ten years, arguing that these records will reveal who and what was behind Anderson's "wholesale assault on the truth" -- and in the process "shed light" on who was responsible for Wallace's still unsolved murder.

Anderson made what the motion calls his "outrageous under-oath allegations" in an August 20, 2007, deposition in which he unexpectedly recanted previous statements he had made to Los Angeles Police Department investigators long before the Wallace estate sued the city. His prior statements implicated former LAPD officers Rafael Perez and David Mack in Wallace's murder.

Anderson also claimed in the deposition that he and a fellow inmate named Kenneth Boagni who was serving time with him at Corcoran state prison personally participated in conversations with Perry Sanders and LAPD officers Russell Poole and Ya-May Christle, in which they supposedly conspired to falsely implicate LAPD officers in the murder.

Today's filing includes certified prison records that prove none of this could possibly be true since the only time Anderson and Bogani were at Corcoran together -- and thus could have had such conversations -- was between Feb 27 and June 20, 2001. During that time period, none of the people Anderson accused of being part of the "scam" had anything to do with the Wallace case.

Indeed, as the official court record shows, there was no Wallace lawsuit during this time period and the estate had not even hired an attorney. Perry Sanders wasn't hired by the Wallace family until July 2001, and the estate's civil suit was not filed until 2002. Moreover, Officer Poole had retired in 1999 and Officer Christle didn't start working on the Wallace case until 2005.

Anderson also testified in the August 20 deposition that he witnessed Bogani and another inmate, Mario Hammonds, conspiring at Corcoran to make up stories tying Perez, Mack, and former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight to the murder. Time-dated documents and statements attached to today's filing belie this claim, since they show that both Boagni and Hammonds gave such statements to the LAPD long before Feb 27, 2001, the earliest Anderson could have witnessed such a conspiracy.

In short, none of the individuals named by Anderson was in a position to do what he claims they did at the time he claims they did it. As the filing notes, "Although it is typically difficult to prove a negative, Anderson provided an empirical time line that allows Plaintiffs to do so."

The filing also makes a case for third-party involvement in Anderson's "wholesale" perjury. "It seems clear that Anderson's outrageous under-oath allegations about innocent people were intended to intimidate the victims of his perjury and to attempt to provide a defamation-proof vehicle for wide dissemination of lies in the media in a way so as to negatively affect public sentiment and the jury pool," the filing notes. "Anderson alone has no such obvious motive, which ... indicates third-party involvement."

And it adds: "The things Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs' counsel have had to endure in this litigation go beyond the pale of what anyone engaged in civil litigation should have to endure while availing themselves of their constitutional rights of access to a Federal Court."

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Linda Ikeji at the launching of the first edition of the FM&B in Lagos, Nigeria.She is flanked by Lady Opral Benson and the Ohaneze of the Ndigbo in Lagos.

Linda Ikeji, one of the few Nigerian celebrity bloggers and the youngest female publisher of a fashion and society magazine in Africa, has released the second edition of her trail-blazing Fashion, Modeling and Beauty (FM&B) magazine. She told me the good news today and has posted it on her popular blog, Linda Ikeji .

The cover of the second edition of the FM&B.

The FM&B magazine will be available at all the leading retail stores and bookshops in Nigeria. Linda Ikeji is already working on having the magazine on Amazon for online orders.

Linda Ikeji is an African beauty in her own class and she is committed to the celebration of African Beauty. The following pictures show her unique beautiful features and poise.

I am happy for this young hardworking Nigerian lady who has been walking tall since 1998 and has never looked back.

KushTV, the original and first multi-platform, high-definition broadband and lifestyle network announced today the launch of the new series "Brother Up" starring NFL's favorite brothers, Chicago Bears' Brendon Ayanbadejo and 11 year veteran, Femi Ayanbadejo. The show brings the heat from the field to the streets as KushTV grants viewers their backstage pass into the lives of the NFL siblings.

KushTV will air episodes exclusive on their interactive network intimately following the life on and off the field. Viewers can expect to witness everything from what it takes to get physically and mentally prepared for Sunday's big game, unpredictable adventures with top notch players such as Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher, and Devin Hester, the importance of manicures and pedicures and constant brotherly bickering and competitive nature; from everything from who can bench press more to who has prettier feet. KushTV will capture the heart-wrenching departure as Femi is cut from the team, his struggle to stay on top and when Brendon is left to represent for both their dreams.

"We got our first lessons in the mean streets of Chicago," states Femi. "KushTV has provided an outlet that allows us to tell our story of struggle and hope. It allows us a way to interact with our fans as well as people who have never heard of the Ayanbadejo Brothers."

"Our partnership with KushTV could not have come at better time," says Michael Skolnik, President of Soze Productions.

"They have prominent partnerships with major websites like MySpace and YouTube and a dedicated following on their own site www.kushtv.com. The brothers really love what KushTV has done with their shows and feel the partnering will serve us well as KushTV is an expert in online distribution."

This show is the second sports installment on the network with Perfect Picks starring the Olly Girls dominating the video charts of YouTube and MySpace.

"Our partnership with the Ayanbadejo brothers further signifies KushTV's relevance in all areas of entertainment," states Aaron Justin, Co-Founder of KushTV.

"Working with Brendon and Femi broadens our playing field and bridges hardcore NFL fans with those who have no previous sports knowledge."

KushTV currently has branded channel partnerships with Helio, Joost, YouTube, and Akimbo and will release more interactive high definition programming in the forthcoming months.

About KushTV

KushTV is the first high definition video network for online, mobile and digital cable platforms. KushTV targets young adult audiences with original programming, live events and exclusive coverage of today's hottest stars in entertainment, music, comedy, gaming and sports. Through its wide network of distribution partners, KushTV reaches millions of unique users every month. KushTV's most popular broadband channels include "Lifestyle," "Rush" and "Kush Girls." Founded in 2005, KushTV is privately held and headquartered in Santa Monica, CA. For more information, please visit www.kushtv.com.

About Soze ProductionsUnder the direction of filmmakers, Paola Mendoza, Gabriel Noble and Michael Skolnik, Soze Productions has created and produced narrative and documentary films for HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, MTV, NBA-TV, Sundance Channel, IFC and Current TV. Some of Michael Skolnik's films include: On the Outs; Hooked: The Legend of Demetrius "Hook" Mitchell; Gang War II: Back in the Hood; Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop; and Lockdown, USA. Paola Mendoza is an actress and a director. She starred in this year's Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning film, Padre Nuestro, and her documentary directorial debut, Autumn's Eyes will be released this fall. Gabriel Noble is a director/producer and recently directed "I Won't Love You to Death" for MTV and also co-directed "Autumn's Eyes" with Paola.

On October 30th 2007, Sony BMG Music Entertainment will release the first ever "Elvis #1 Performance" DVD. The DVD is comprised of quintessential performances by the King of Rock 'n' Roll showcasing 15 of his number one hits. Culled from his TV guest appearances, movies, concert films and television specials -- this is Elvis at his best.

The DVD includes performances of 'Heartbreak Hotel', Elvis' first gold record award winner; 'Hound Dog'; 'Can't Help Falling In Love' and more. No DVD would be complete without his famous "from the waist up only" performance of 'Don't Be Cruel' on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Also included, bonus features of Elvis Presley press conferences from 1960 at Graceland and 1972 from the New York Hilton.

Probably at one time or another you have been either on the giving or receiving end of a silent treatment, otherwise known as the cold shoulder. What you probably didn’t realize is that the silent treatment is a form of ostracism. When someone is ostracized it affects the part of their brain called the anterior cingulate cortex. Do you know what the anterior cingulate cortex does?

The anterior cingulate cortex is the part of the brain that detects pain. When you give someone the silent treatment you are causing that person physical pain. Simply by ignoring someone else’s existence you can inflict pain on them. This is what the ever popular “time out” with a child is so effective. The child feels ostracized, therefore is feeling pain even though no physical pain was inflicted on them, and therefor they want to behave so they don’t have to feel that way again.

The silent treatment can be a very destructive behavior when it involves personal relationships. Let’s say with a husband and wife for instance. The silent treatment breeds bitterness on both ends and it borders on emotional abuse…I’m not making that up to be dramatic. That’s what “they” say.

Cooling Off And Ostracizing Are Two Very Different Things

Let’s not confuse the silent treatment with something known as “the cooling off period”. The cooling off period is where one person is so angry or disgusted by the other person that they just cannot deal with the situation in that state need time to calm down before they begin to speak to this person. That’s fine and actually that’s probably better than sitting and screaming at each other.

There is a big difference between taking some time to cool down and outright ignoring the existence of the other person. The silent treatment would be more along the lines of you doing something that pisses someone off, they clue you in on it (or not), and then they don’t speak to you, acknowledge you or even make eye contact with you for sometimes days. No good.

To me, this is a form of torture. Nothing positive comes from this type of behavior. What makes more sense…blowing up about something, cooling off a little and then talking about how to resolve it OR not blowing up about something, staying completely pissed and not doing anything to help resolve the situation? If you said the latter…you’re a dick.

When someone is administering the silent treatment they are trying to show that they are dominant over you. The silent treatment (when it becomes a mutual one) is a power struggle in pain tolerance…whomever the winner is, cares less.

When You Are On The Receiving End Of The Silent Treatment

It’s interesting to me that research has shown that woman and men respond to the silent treatment very differently. Woman who are on the receiving end of the silent treatment seem to try anything in their power to win back their good grace with the ostracize where men…don’t. They just deal with it.

But what exactly are the men just dealing with and the woman trying to avoid? The emotional pain associated with being ostracized. Those who have been treated to the silent treatment have reported as sense of loss, of not belonging, of lower self-esteem and a feeling of unworthiness. All of these feelings are the result of someone just not acknowledging them or ignoring them. I find that pretty interesting.

I can say that I honestly don’t ever remember giving someone the silent treatment…not anyone that it would matter to anyway. I don’t think I have it in me to do that to someone. Why you ask? Because I’ve had it done to me, I know what it feels like and it totally sucks. I’m more the type of person that would like to blow up about something, probably say some things I don’t really mean, apologize for saying the things I don’t really mean and then move towards resolution. But hey…that’s just me.

Monday, October 15, 2007

A woman in New York City posted a personal ad on Craigslist looking for a man that made over $500,000 dollars. The ad caused quite a commotion and eventually was taken down after one anonymous banker replied saying, "Your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity." WebProNews talked with a Spokeswoman from Craigslist and Associate Professor of Child and Family Studies, Doctor Mixon Ware about online dating. Keep watching WebProNews for all the details of the interviews and story.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Jack decided to go skiing with his buddy, Bob. So they loaded up Jack's minivan and headed north. After driving for a few hours, they got caught in a terrible blizzard. So they pulled into a nearby farm and asked the attractive lady who answered the door if they could spend the night.

"I realize it's terrible weather out there and I have this huge house all to myself, but I'm recently widowed," she explained. "I'm afraid the neighbors will talk if I let you stay in my house."

"Don't worry," Jack said. "We'll be happy to sleep in the barn. And if the weather breaks, we'll be gone at first light." The lady agreed, and the two men found their way to the barn and settled in for the night. Come morning, the weather had cleared, and they got on their way They enjoyed a great weekend of skiing.

But about nine months later, Jack got an unexpected letter from an attorney. It took him a few minutes to figure it out, but he finally determined that it was from the attorney of that attractive widow he had met on the ski weekend.

He dropped in on his friend Bob and asked, "Bob, do you remember that good-looking widow from the farm we stayed at on our ski holiday up north about 9 months ago?"

"Yes, I do." Said Bob.

"Did you, er, happen to getup in the middle of the night, go up to the house and pay her a visit?"

"Well, um, yes!," Bob said, a little embarrassed about being found out, "I have to admit that I did." "And did you happen to give her my name instead of telling her your name?"

Also: a Tribute to William Shatner, a Super-Tribute to Spiderman Creator Stan Lee, Titanic's 10th Anniversary and NBC'S TV Hit Heroes Live on Stage!

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 9 /PRNewswire/ --

Building on 15 successful years in Paris, France the Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival (JVAFF) will launch its inaugural -- and 1st annual -- run in Los Angeles on Dec. 5. Bearing no resemblance to any other film festival in the world, JVAFF is an extravaganza of exploration, conservation, imagination and education that previous honoree Harrison Ford has called, "the next adventure ... The one we all need ... The festival is a genuine celebration of the planet." Star-studded and inspiring events and programming will run through Dec. 16 at two pre-eminently historic venues, the Shrine Auditorium and the Los Angeles Theatre.

On 12/5, day one of this "Ultimate Event Where Science Meets Fiction," the Shrine hosts Jules Verne Day, an educational fair and exhibition for students and youth with over 3,000 attending for free. Festivities kick into high gear the evening of 12/6, with the Festival's gala green carpet Opening Ceremony and Awards. JVAFF's French creators, Jean Christophe Jeauffre and Frederic Dieudonne, with event emcee Malcolm McDowell will welcome the 2007 Jules Verne Award Honorees, philanthropist/entrepreneur/environmentalist Ted Turner (Spirit of Nature Award) and explorer-filmmaker Jean-Michel Cousteau (Lifetime Achievement Award).

"JVAFF came about 15 years ago with support from Jacques Cousteau," says co-founder Jeauffre, "based on the idea of exploring and preserving the planet. This was years before global warming, yet there was already the idea that change was urgently needed. The Festival has grown into something where science meets fiction -- it's about re-imagining ourselves, our way of life and our future for the better. Building the energy to restore the planet is the greatest adventure of all time, a true celebration of life, and we can come together to act on it. Like Jules Verne, whose generation faced the unknown frontiers of the industrial revolution, we are living in profoundly exciting times."

The Festival's film selections will underscore these ideas, presenting select premieres, classic films and over thirty documentaries discovering the world from the depths of The Abyss to the heavens above. Documentary highlights include the Jules Verne Adventures film Explorers: From the Titanic to the Moon, starring Oscar-winner James Cameron and astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

Other special presentations include John Woo's new animated Sci-Fi tour de force Ex-Machina, a 25th anniversary screening of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, and a major Titanic 10th Anniversary event with James Cameron on 12/8. The Shrine's epic main auditorium will host the major green carpet events including screenings in High-Definition Digital and a full-day of exclusive 3D presentations. In the Shrine Expo Center, the Jules Verne Movie Lounge, designed as a first-class ship's cabin, will feature diverse screenings, Q&As and special events. Attendees of JVAFF programs and films at the Los Angeles Theatre, inaugurated by Charlie Chaplin in 1931, will experience another landmark building restored to its original glory.

In addition to the Titanic fete, a number of other certain to be hot-ticket events will take place over the course of JVAFF's 12-day run. Dec. 9, JVAFF's closing night at the Shrine, marks the presentation of a Jules Verne Lifetime Achievement Award to William Shatner, who rose to fame as Star Trek's legendary Captain Kirk. Awards for the best documentary films of the year will also be given out. Earlier that day, the Festival will premiere -- on the Shrine's big screen -- HD-remastered editions of episodes from the classic Star Trek series.

On the Festival's final day, Dec. 15, the legendary Stan Lee -- creator of Spider-Man, X-Men and other immortal superheroes -- will receive his Jules Verne Lifetime Achievement Award at the Los Angeles Theatre. Continuing the super-tribute theme through closing night, JVAFF will present NBC's hit series Heroes live onstage. Expected to attend are creator Tim Kring, writer-producer Jeph Loebb and the show's stars.

Jules Verne Adventures was founded in Paris in 1991 by filmmakers and explorers Jean-Christophe Jeauffre and Frederic Dieudonne as a nonprofit organization dedicated to exploration, discovery and education and a collective mission to honor and preserve the planet. JVAFF was conceived to inspire and enlighten the human spirit about the mysteries and wonders of the universe with unprecedented spectacle, style and passion. Since 1992, the festival has taken place annually in Paris at the Grand Rex, the largest movie theatre in Europe. In 2006, a gala one-night preview event for this year's first full-scale U.S. Festival took place at the Shrine, and their massive proscenium was re-christened the Jules Verne Stage. That evening, film legends George Lucas and Harrison Ford and primatologist Jane Goodall were Jules Verne Award honorees.

Past honoree James Cameron has said, "The Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival is unique. It helps celebrate the spirit of adventure and of exploration. This is what we need now and for the future." Los Angeles, a city that in many ways has "seen it all," is about to get a glimpse of something completely new when JVAFF takes residence on Dec. 5.

For more information on JVAFF and Festival events: http://www.jvaff.org/